When you stroll around a gallery to view first hand the most important pieces of art in the world, you will almost certainly appreciate the work that the artist has done.

But will you give a second thought to the work that it took to get it on the wall?

Canberra is fast becoming Australia's home to the block buster exhibition. We've seen handwritten documents with inky notation scribed by Beethoven, Van Gogh's reflection of himself made up of hundreds of precise strokes and 150 costumes and accessories from the Ballet Russes. Each one of these priceless artefacts has been loaned to us from far away countries that would like to have them returned in perfect condition.

Sending an entire exhibition across the sea to Australia is no easy feat.

The process of packing the art is an art itself, and takes a lot of careful planning and management.

Once the art is safe in its container it is chaperoned across the world by a guardian who sees to it that the art is unpacked in the right environment at the right time. There is a science to acclimatising the visiting art to our environment which is undertaken by experienced caretakers.

When the piece has been removed from the packaging, it is time to get it on display which is a job for a whole crew of gallery professionals.

Jolene Laverty found out more about the art of packing from Mark Van Veen from the National Gallery of Australia.